Ever wonder if there was an investment you could make that would always pay out? Just one investment that will continue to pay out over and over? Intrigued? The answer is investing in yourself, and I believe it’s the smartest investment you can make. It’s not always the easiest thing to do. Sometimes, it seems like it’s the hardest, most selfish thing to do; I completely understand. I’m the last person on my list to take care of. By the very nature of my nursing job, I take care of others…

I absolutely love spending time outside. I love breathing in the fresh, crisp air and in the Pacific Northwest we are blessed with majestic evergreen trees all around. It really is pretty magical. There’s also research to suggest that spending time outside boosts mood and lowers blood pressure, so bonus! But wait, I need to do something very important before I get too excited and rush out the door. I need to sport some form of sun protection before exposing myself to that burning beacon in the sky (even if…

Do you wear hats? I never thought I was a hat person. I wanted to be one. I watched the Kentucky Derby and wished I could pull off one those gorgeous, elaborate hats. I would try on different styles just to be disappointed. It didn’t help that I was doing this when I was a teenager, the only people I knew who wore hats were men and they wore baseball caps. Although baseball caps can be cute, they’re not really the best choice for every occasion. As teenagers we are…

My feet depend so much on the ground to walk. I was listening to one of my favorite podcasts the other day, Freakonomics, and it got me thinking about feet (of course it did, the episode is called “These Shoes Are Killing Me!”). I have seen a lot of feet throughout the years and let me tell you, people don’t take care of their feet! We seriously under-appreciate our tootsies. They’re a pretty important piece of anatomy and are the foundation for our entire body. If you didn’t have your…

The ocean is wild and calm, dangerous and beautiful. It holds miraculous treasures; powerful, healing treasures. Life flourishes here. Algae are one of those life forces with abundant potential for our skin. Algae are nonflowering, mainly aquatic plants. They can be classified as macro (large enough to see with the naked eye) or micro (small enough to need a microscope to see it). Some algae live in the salty sea and others live in fresh water. They both hold promise, but for now, I want to focus on the macroalgae…

When we think about protection from the sun’s rays we think of our skin. Our skin is very important, and deserves thorough daily sunscreen application. There is another part of our bodies that is exposed to the sun every day, and yet we don’t even think about protecting it… our hair. We may not think much about protecting our hair from sun damage because it’s not living and therefore, can’t get sunburned or develop life-threatening diseases like cancer. Also, if our hair becomes damaged we can just cut it off,…

You’ve most likely heard of probiotics for good gut health. It’s a hot topic with a lot of buzz right now. There has been some promising research to suggest that if we keep our digestive tract happy, the rest of our bodies will follow suit. Yes, even including our skin. So what are probiotics anyway? Simply put, probiotics are live microorganisms like bacteria and yeasts that have health benefits. Our bodies host large numbers of microorganisms on the inside and out. These tiny “bugs” help keep us in a state…

Every part of our bodies that sees the sun’s rays is susceptible to premature ageing and skin cancer. The best defense, aside from staying inside all the time which is not recommended, is to apply sunscreen. There happens to be one place that we cannot and should not apply sunscreen, our eyes. Just like our skin, our eyes can get sunburned. Our eyelids are designed to protect our delicate eyes but the skin is so thin that light passes through, including sunlight. Over exposure to the sun can lead to…

Each one of us was born with our very own personal body suit, our skin. It is the largest organ that we possess. It grows and changes as we grow and change. It has a very important job to do, and that is to protect our inside from infection and germs. Our skin is constantly exposed to injury, whether from UV exposure, pollution, or physical injuries like scratches, scrapes, and other wounds. It is perpetually making new skin cells to repair itself. It’s always on the defensive, just waiting to…

When I was in elementary school I had the most wonderful music teacher. She loved what she did and her enthusiasm spread to me so profoundly, that music was my favorite class of the day. She taught us to sing the popular music that we liked; she taught us to dance. Each spring she would choose a musical for us to perform. She directed and produced each one herself, and my favorite was Oliver Twist. If you don’t already know, Oliver Twist is a tale written by Charles Dickens. It’s…

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